Sawdust burner feeder



Aug- 1, 1944. R, H. BLussoN SAWDUST BURNER FEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 3, 1942 r iNvENToR- Ronad Hough Blusoh ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug". 1, 1944 l 5.-:

A A 2,354,647 i I YSAWDUST,UlqtNEnFEEDER' g y 3 Ronald Hough Blusson, Vancouver, Brtish'- s.. f v Columbian Canada 'I' Application'sprn 3, 1942, seria1-No.437,566

s claims. t((31.198-37) This invention relates Vto a sawdust feeder. Referring more particularlyA to the, drawings, I0 At the present timeQsawdustburners are used isan ordinary kitchen stove and I I' isa sawdust on kitchen'l stoves and heaters and 'these burners burner of any desired type, mounted on'the stove have very smallI hoppersfor 'holding' sawdust. and having a sawdust hopper I2. A" relative1y This means thatrthey have'vtofbe lled a number o large sawdust'storagehopp'er I3" is located at a of times each day with l'sawdust usually brought point remote from the sawdust burner, usuallyin up'ffromthebasemen'tf This is tiring and very the basement as shown. annoying, 'to' say nothing" of the necessityV of A tubular 'casing I4 extends from the'hopperv I3 sweeping up" sawdust 'which has fallen on the to the 'hopper' I2 and communicatesfwithjthe floor." lo interior of each hopper. The casing 'preferably lAn object of th'e'present invention is the proopens into the back of the storagerhopper and vision'of apparatus'"`for 2feeding' sawdust from. a into the side of the burner hopper. Anendless relatively large' hopper in the basement tothe belt I5 is positioned in the casing I4 and extends small hopper of a sawdustv burner on a kitchen around pulleys I Ii at each end thereof. Thisbelt st0ve l5 actually travels over aspacerv I1,v see Figure 5, Another object is' the provision of a.V sawdust extending between the lupper and lower pulleys feeder which is'not vveryliable to become clogged. I6, and said' belt has a plurality ofl paddles I8 Another Objectis the provision of a sawdust projecting outwardly therefrom. These paddles feeder operated by an electric motor and linare preferablyslightly flexible and they project cluding meansfor automatically shutting off the 2u outwardly from the belt to the inner "surface of motor should the apparatus become clogged. the wall of the casing. `v

A further object is the provision 'of a' device of `The casing I4 opens into the back of the hopper I3 so that'the sloping bottom `il and sides 2l the nature described l-of simple and inexpensive construction. of the hopper direct the sawdust towardsthe With these and other objects in view, the z5 casing. The sides of the casingin the hopper'are present invention consists essentially ofa feeder preferably cut back, as at 22, so that the Paddles devicefor sawdust burners having relatively small ISproJ'eCt into the hopper. As these paddles move hoppers, `comprising Va large storage hop-per reuplllardly,` they'lift'SaWdllSt fIOm the hODDT, and mote from the burner, a tubular casing extending the front'of the casing is preferably Open t0 a from the storage hopper to the burner "hopper, so point above the hopper in lorder thatsome of the said casing communicating with the interiorvof sawdust' may fall back into the hopper. This each hopper, an vend1ess=belt in the casing and prevents too much sawdust being raised at one extending over pulleys at :each endf thereof, a time, thus reducing the possibility of jamming.

plurality of paddles projectingA outwardly from If desired, a `scraper 23, see Figure 6, having a the belt, means for moving the: belt over' the pointed 'and 23d may bear against the lower pulley pulleysto convey sawdust on the paddles'from the |6- YThis SClaDel SlOpeS toward each side of the storage to the burner hopper', and means in the casing and is adapted' to remove any `sawdust burnerV hopper fory controlling the movement -of which may adhere to the pulley and to direct said the belt in accordance with the' amount of`saw'- sawdust out of the casing through openings 24 dust in said hopper, as morefu1ly-described in the 40 in the sides of the latter. following specication and illustrated in the a`c-r The belt I5 is operated by an electric motor 25 companying drawings, in which mounted adjacent the top of the casing I4, a1-1 LFigure lis an elevation ofwthe rsawdust feeder, though, if desired, the motor may be positioned Figure 2 isl a side View thereof;- v atthe lower end of thecasing. The motor turns Figure 3 is avertical'section through the burner 4.5 a pulley 26 which may be connected directly to a hopper, 4 i pulley '2'I xedly mounted on the shaft of fthe Figureisavertical section through the burner upper pulley I 6 'of the belt. Of course, if the hopper'takenl at right angles to Figure `3, Y motoris located at the bottom of the easing,f t he Figure 5v is an enlargedview, partly in section, pulley 21- would be mounted on the shaft ofthe of the Storage hopper, l 50 lower pulley I6. The pulley 26 is, however, prefer- Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectionv ably "connectedby a belt 28 to a relatively large taken through'the lower-end of the'casing, pulley 30 mounted lon a stub shaft 3I while Figure 7 is an enlarged detailof the automatic another pulley 32 xedly mounted on thel shaft', is switch-off, and COHIIBClSed by a beltv A33 to the pulley 2 1. v By re-y Figure s is a wiring diagram. 5 ferring to Figure-7, it wm be seen that the' 'puuY by a nut 38. A lug 40 projecting outwardly from the side of the pulley 30 adjacent the periphery thereof, is adapted to operate a' switch 4I located in the circuit' of fthe motor, wheiithefpulleymoves towards theouter'end of the stub'fshaft.

An operating plate 42, see Figures 3 and 4, is

hingedly suspended in the hopper I2 near th'f* This plate has `pivots 43 lat.its

back thereof. upper edge which extend through the sides of mounted on the outer surface of the hopper I2.

This switch also is in the circuit of the motor 25.-

hopper 'so that thereis ate'ndenfcy.forv the lower lend of the platetoswinginthe opposite direction a little past theverti`c al. Whensawdust in the hopper pressesagainst the plate,'the latter is pivoted towards the back of the hopper, as indicated `in broken lines in Figurefi. .Wires 50 extending outwardlyfrom the opposite sides of the plate'42 Aadjacent its pivot, are.,bentdownwardly and extend pastthelo.wer edge of the plate in thlejspace's betweenthe sides ofthe plate and the hopper. ".In use, the hopper I 3.is Llarge enough that it need. be lled with sawdustonly once in awhile as compared tothe number of times the hopper I2 requires filling., When the switch. 4Iis turned on, rthe motor '25 moves the belt, I5 until .the burner hopperV I2 is .lledl Asl the sawdust is directed intovtheburner hopper, ,the pressure against the plate 42 builds,v4 up -until the hopper is almost full, at whichv time the pressure is sufl- Y l cient to pivot the plate towards the rear wall of the hopper. This turns the crank 44, which in turn,movesvthelever.46 to shut off the switch f4`I,.thus stopping the motor 25. l When the level of the sawdust inthe burner hopper drops below a certain point,'the;counter weight `48 causes the plate 42 to pivotoutwardly sufficiently to turn the crank 44 back toturn on the switch 4'I to start the-'motor and the belt.

While the conveyor belty is in motion the paddles llift sawdust from thev storage to the burner hopper. The fact that the casing I4 is open a short way above the hopperl3, -reduces the possibility of jamming since any excess of sawdust falls backinto the hopper.. sawdust is, however, madev of small solid particles which arebound to get between the edges ofthe paddles and the casing wall. These paddles are made flexible so that'theyrwill bend and release or pass over any such-particles withoutcausing any trouble. The scraper 23 helps to preventsawdust from accumulating around the lowerpulley I6, andthe wiresllon the sides of the operating plate,=pre vent sawdust from clogging up the space between said sidesand the walls .of the hopper. In the event that the belt might become jammed or Ioverloaded, means has been provided for `automatically lshutting off the motor. 1f `the belt stops while the motor is running, the stub shaft 3| stops but therpulley 30keeps turning. The thread 34 riding inthe spiral groove 35, causes the pulley to move towards the outer end of the shaft until the lug 40 operates the. ,switch 4I auto,-

i the hopper. One of the pivots 43 is bent 'outsideff the hopper into a crank 44 which is connected-byV a link 45 to the operating lever- 46.0f aswitchv 41 Y.

matically to shut off the motor. When the belt is cleared, the apparatus is again set into operation by turning on the switch 4I.

Figure 8 diagrammatically illustrates the wiring for the sawdust feeder. The switches 4I and 4l are in series in the circuit of the motor` so that the latter is stopped if either switch is turned off. Switch 4I is normally closed and the motor is then controlled by switch 4l.` If'lit is desired to :s'top'the apparatus entirely, theswitch 4| may be turned off. A circuit' having a switch 5I therein, is provided, which by-passes the switch 4'I so that, if desired, the motor may be set into -J-operation regardless of the setting of the latter switch. With this arrangement, a. person may ;iill-"the'burner hopper with sawdust without waitf-inguntil lit has first been emptied.

Fromgthe above, it will readily be seen that simple and inexpensive means has been provided for feeding sawdust from a relatively large storage hopper; to thesmall. hopper of-a sawdust burner mounted on astove .orheater, and that this apparatus is not veryE likely tobecome cloggedforioverloaded` but. is 'automatically shutoff ifffsuch an event does take place. y l' Various modifications -may be made in this invention without departing from. the spirit thereof or the scope of the claims, and therefore, the exact forms shownare to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense, and it is desired that only suchflimitations .shall be placed thereon as -are-.disclosedvin'the priorart or are set forth in the accompanying claims.-

WhatI claim as my ,invention is:

l. A feeder device for sawdust burners having relatively smallhoppers, comprising a large storage `hopper remote from the burner, Ia Ytubular casing extending from v the storagelhopper Yto the burner hopper,l said casingcommunicating with the interior of -eachhoppen an vendless belt in the casingrand extending over pulleysai'feach end thereof, plurality of paddles projecting outwardly from the belt,A means for moving the belt over the pulleys to convey sawdust on the paddles from ,the .storageto the burner'hopper, a Aplate hingedly mounted in the burnerhopper for controlling -the belt moving means in accordance with the amount of sawdust in said hopper, and a wire extending outwardly and downwardly' from each 0 side of the plate in the space between the sides thereof-:and the Walls of the hopper. l ,2. Afeeder device for sawdust burners havin relatively small hoppers, comprising a large stor age hopper remotey from the burner, a tubular casing extending from the storage hopper to the burner hopper, said casing `communicatingy with the interior of each hopper, an endless belt the casing and extendingover pulleys'at each end thereof, a plurality of paddles vprojecting foutwardly' from the. belt, a motor for moving the belt over vthe pulleys to convey'sawdust `o`nl` the paddles from the storage 'to the burner hoppe'na switchfor controllingthe'motor, a plate hingedly suspended adjacent one edge thereof in the hopper and connected' tothe switch, a counter weight for the plate tending to swing the plate acrossth hopper when the sawdust is low to operate the switch to start the motor, said plate being swung back to its normal positionfbysawdust supplied to the hopper to shut olf the motor, and awire extending outwardly ancl, downwardly frornK each side of the plate in the space between'the sides thereof and the walls of the hopper. 'v

3. A feeder device for sawdust burners'rhaving. 75 relatively small hoppers, comprising enlarge-'storage hopper remote from the burner, a tubular casing extending from the storage hopper to the burner hopper, said cas-ing communicating with the interior of each hopper, an endless belt in the casing and extending over pulleys at each end thereof, a plurality of paddles projecting outwardly from the belt, a motor for moving the belt over the pulleys to convey sawdust on the paddles from the storage to the burner hopper, a switch for controlling the motor, means in the burner hopper for operating the switch to start the motor when the sawdust becomes low in the hopper and to shut off the motor when the hopper is lled, an independent switch for shutting off the motor, and means for turning off said independent switch when the belt is accidently stopped the said last mentioned means comprising a shaft having a spiral groove therein, a pulley freely mounted on the shaft having an internal thread riding in the groove, a washer held on the outer end of the shaft, a spring between the pulley and the washer, a lug extending from the side of the pulley and a switch located in the circuit of the motor adapted to be operated by the lug when the pulley moves axially on the shaft.

4. A feeder device for sawdust burners having relatively small hoppers, comprising a large storage hopper remote from the burner, a tubular casing extending from the storage hopper to the burner hopper, said casing communicating with the interior of each hopper, an endless belt in the casing and extending over pulleysat each end thereof, a plurality of paddles projecting outwardly from the belt, amotor for moving the belt over the pulleys to convey sawdust on the paddles from the storage to the burner hopper, a switch for controlling the motor, a plate hingedly mount-` ed in the hopper and connected to the switch to start the motor when the sawdust becomes low in the hopper and to shut olf the-motor when the hopper is lled, a wire extending outwardly and downwardly from each side of the plate in the space between the sides thereof and the walls of the hopper, and means for automatically stopping the motor when the belt is accidently stopped.

5. A feeding device for sawdust burners cornprising a lower hopper having a substantial vertical back, an upper hopper, a tubular casing rectangular in cross section extending from the lower hopper to the upper hopper extending along the back of the lower hopper and having the inner side open to a point above the top of the lower 5 hopper and having the sides of the casing in the hopper cut back so that any paddles therein may project into the lower hopper, an endless belt in the casing extending over pulleys at each end thereof and carrying a plurality of paddles projecting outwardly therefrom, a motor for moving the belt, a switch for controlling the motor, a plate hingedly suspended adjacent to one edge of the upper hopper and operatively connected to the switch, a counterweight for the plate tending to swing the s-ame to a position which will close the switch, the said plate being designed to be swung to its normal position with the switch open when there is a sufficient supply of sawdust in the upper hopper. y

6. A feeder device for sawdust burners having relatively small hoppers, comprising a large storage hopper remote from the burner, a tubular cas-- ing extending from the storage hopper to the burner hopper, said casing communicating with the interior of each hopper, an endless belt in the casing and extending over pulleys at each end thereof, a plurality of paddles projecting out wardly from thebelt, a motor for moving the belt over the pulleys to convey sawdust on the Paddles from the storage to the burner hopper, a u switch for controlling the motor, means in the burner hopper for operating the switch to start the motor when the sawdust becomes low in the hopper and to shut 01T the motor when the hopper is filled, a pulley freely mounted on a shaft, driving means connecting the pulley to the motor, an internal thread in the pulley riding in a spiral groove formed in the shaft, a lug projecting outwardly from the pulley adjacent its periphery adapted to operate the switch, a pulley xedly mounted on the shaft, and driving means connecting the latter pulley to a belt pulley, whereby the first-mentioned pulley is moved along the shaft'by the thread in the spiral groove to cause the lug to shut olf the independent switch when the shaft is stopped by the stopping 'of the belt.

RONALD HOUGH BLUSSON. 

